Zoo Euthanizes Sick Giraffe

Associated Press - July 16, 2014 3:34 pm

The Topeka Zoo has euthanized a 24-year-old giraffe that had been sick for a while.

Jesse the giraffe was euthanized Wednesday. The zoo reported its failing health in late March. The zoo says the giraffe suffered from laminitis, a disease that causes tenderness and inflammation in the hooves.

Zoo director Brendan Wiley said in a release the zoo carefully weighed its options and saw no opportunity for the giraffe’s health to improve.

Wiley says the animal, which stood higher than 16 feet and weighed 1,800 pounds, was a favorite at the zoo, where he was born in April 1990.